Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 271 The Sage Under the Tree

"Mana Feliana," the name was not unfamiliar to Shard. In fact, all students of Saint Byrons knew of her. She was the founder of Saint Byrons Integrated Academy, one of the Three Great Magics Academies, and rumored to be the strongest Grand Witch who lived in the middle of the Fifth Era.

The Relic known as "Dream of Saint Byrons," which Shard had used upon admission to the academy, originated from this witch. Had she not lived so early in history, she would certainly have qualified as one of the thirteen Witch Empresses at the end of the Fifth Era.

Shard might have encountered someone with the same name, but when visiting librarian Miss Danester, he had seen a portrait of Miss Feliana on a book cover. Despite five thousand years passing, the resemblance between the portrait and the witch before him was uncannily high, which was why Shard felt she looked so familiar when he first saw her by the fire.

Miss Mana Feliana's reputation was very good, and it wasn't just the academy's history exaggerating its founder. Even the church's history spoke highly of this witch, which was why Iluna had shown such admiration for this lady during their rainy morning conversation (Chapter 245).

Perhaps the Father of the Infinite Tree had indeed departed, but He had allowed Shard to interact with the Time Key from different eras and face various events for a reason. At the critical moment of the Evil God's descent upon Tobesk, having encountered the academy's founder in the past, Shard knew what he had to do.

Rising beside the campfire, patting the dirt off himself, Shard held the cat and bowed respectfully to Miss Feliana under the curious gazes of the three witches:

"Teacher, save me."

Although they didn't understand his intention, the witches couldn't help but laugh. Amidst the campfire's glow, Miss Feliana appeared to be in a good mood as she nodded with a smile:

"Since you sincerely address me as your teacher, I will definitely help you. But you must tell me everything about your situation, so I can make a plan for you."

After only slight hesitation, Shard nodded:

"I can."

The bell echoed under the giant tree at the clearing, and the long sound of a steam whistle tore through the night, making the forest beyond the firelight restless. The brass-colored Ring of Fate appeared behind Shard, causing the three witches to look on with intrigue as the six Runes on the spinning ring emerged.

"I have seen the embryonic form of the Circle Sorcerer System before, but I never expected it to become the mainstream system of the next era... You two, go find some firewood for the time being," Miss Feliana instructed her students after some thought. The young witches were reluctant; they too wanted to stay and hear about the novel matters. However, they hesitantly got up, casting pitiable glances at their teacher, hoping she would change her mind.

So Miss Feliana added:

"Hurry."

They could only straighten their robes, muttering complaints about their teacher's strictness, then ignited their torches with the strange flames from the campfire and headed together into the grove outside the clearing.

The three witches seemed to get along quite well, so perhaps the other two ancient witches, whose names Shard did not know, also had significant roles in the establishment of Saint Byrons.

"No need to stand; we have no such formalities here. Sit down to speak," she told Shard, prompting him to sit back down by the campfire and place the cat on his lap.

The campfire crackled, the golden-haired witch warmed her hands toward the fire, her eyes fixed on Shard:

"I swear by the name of Mana Feliana to the gods that I won't tell anyone about our conversation tonight. So, traveler from the future, you who have crossed through time to come here, how exactly do you want me to help you?"

Her voice was soft but also reliable.

Shard looked at her, and even though the person before him was no deity, just a mortal, he felt a renewed sense of hope:

"I want to know how to expel a deity in Saint Form from the material world against its will."

This was his paramount concern. Shard, though divine himself, faced a divine opponent. He might not be able to gain the upper hand in a direct fight with the Saint, but he only needed to expel his adversary.

After all, the opponent could not linger in the material world for long, while Shard could.

"Who is the adversary? Has the god fully manifested?" the witch asked with concern, her questions cutting to the core.

"The Lord of the Blood Feast. I'm not certain if he has fully manifested, but I have seen blood mist swallowing cities, and blood-red pillars of light piercing the sky."

"Then he has not arrived yet, but you don't have much time left," she replied, giving Shard a substantial sense of relief.

"Don't be too quick to relax. I can't help you confront a god, only a god can confront a god. Wait a moment..."

She pulled a dirty black book, clearly an illicit copy, from her robe. The fact that she carried this book with her suggested it was both dangerous and likely to be used at any moment, especially as the witches' presence here was not for leisure.

The title was "Dangerous Rituals: Contacting Deities."

"Even if you suddenly gained my vast power, you still wouldn't be able to confront a god because only a god can confront a god. So, you might try god summoning," the witch seriously suggested.

"There's no time. The Saint has already appeared, and I don't even have a second to spare," Shard replied, shaking his head, as Miss Feliana put the book away and cautiously asked:

"Do you have any level 0 Relics on you? I'm not sure about the classification of Relics in your era, but you understand level 0. If you have more than twenty level 0 Relics, there is an extremely small chance that, as a mortal, you might be able to expel a god, at the cost of your life and the lives of millions of others," the witch proposed once more, seeming earnest.

```

"How could you think that I have so many level 0 Relics?"

Shard countered.

"Since you can travel through time without punishment, I assume anything is possible with you."

She spoke earnestly, and to Shard's surprise, he found he couldn't refute her. He thought for a moment:

"Indeed, I do have a few decent Relics, but none are highly rated. Oh, I also have two Impermanence Cards, do you know of them?"

"Oh, you actually have those? And two of them?"

Miss Feliana looked at him in surprise but still shook her head:

"The Impermanence Card indeed possesses the power of an Ancient God, an Ancient God that can suppress all other deities, just as a god can suppress all mortals. But the power of the Impermanence Card, its true usage, remains an ancient mystery never known to mankind."

The Impermanence Card was no ordinary item, and Shard had learned this from the Female Diviner. However, he didn't know that the card indeed possessed a power beyond bringing luck.

He hesitated for a bit, then made up his mind:

"Very well, Miss Feliana, besides those, I have other..."

"What?"

"A drop of Divinity. By absorbing it, I can transform into a deity."

Miss Feliana fell silent. She made a gesture that felt incredibly familiar to Shard; she grasped his wrist, released it to look at her palm, and muttered to herself:

"A man from the Future Era, can you really do such things? Or are you some ancient demigod hero? An angel descended to earth? Or, perhaps, are you a deity who enjoys jesting?"

"No, everything I've said is true, and I really am a man."

Shard quickly shook his head, adding:

"A deity has proven this."

"You trust me so much that you dare tell me such things? Even though we are from different points in the river of time, but..."

"Sorry, I don't have much time, let's discuss this later. Miss Feliana, I trust you, and it's not like I have other options."

Shard said apologetically. The witch nodded, her expression relaxed significantly, and she stopped gazing at Shard, instead looking at the fire in front of her.

The flames flickered, casting their shadows in trembling movements:

"No matter who you are... do you need me to speak formally to you?"

She joked, and only after Shard hastily shook his head did she continue:

"No matter who you are, but since you are confident enough to absorb Divinity and transform into a deity, then the situation is easily resolved. Use the power of that deity to touch the Impermanence Card, and you are bound to gain something from it. Moreover, I may only be a mortal, but I have witnessed battles of deities in the material world. Tell me the powers you can wield in human form, and I will make a plan for you. After all, the power you will control after becoming a deity still depends on the power you have experienced as a mortal."

She pulled out a notebook and fountain pen from the clutter around her, items that looked very much like those from the Sixth Era:

"You did the right thing coming to me, I bet that in the entire Fifth Era, there aren't many who could offer you advice about deities."

Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire

This somewhat self-praising sentence didn't seem out of place at all coming from the Witch Empress, Miss Mana Feliana.

She paused, then looked at Shard:

"But as someone from the future, there's something you must be aware of."

"Please tell me."

Shard looked at her earnestly.

"To me, your body is decidedly mortal. No matter how you utilize the Divinity, there can't be a lack of consequences. Neither of us can predict what the cost will be, but it definitely exists."

Shard understood the witch's concern and knew she was worried about him, but he simply shook his head:

"It's okay, I've already decided to do this."

"So resolute?"

"I can't escape anyway, plus, there are many people I care about around the Evil God... I just don't want any regrets."

The two looked at each other, a hint of amusement appearing in Miss Mana Feliana's golden eyes:

"It seems that men from the future are much stronger than those from our era. We won't discuss the ritual I want to perform now. The next time you come, help me with it... I hope you can still come back alive to see me."

The night breeze rustled the canopy of the massive tree, and by the campfire beneath it, a young man sat cross-legged, respectfully bowing his head, seeking knowledge from the robed woman sitting with her legs pulled up. Their shadows wavered behind them with the flickering flames. Their hushed conversation couldn't be carried away by the wind, and this scene would remain unrecorded by any.

Perhaps the scene of an ancient sage imparting knowledge to students was something similar. But then again, no one would dare to converse so freely about the secrets of the gods.

```